Abstract
This Working Paper attempts to explore the militarisation aspect of social media and its impacts on national security. It finds that on the one hand, social media has revolutionised the conventions of socialisation and information sharing, while on the other, it has become an ideal platform for surveillance and intelligence. The militarisation aspect, in this study, covers Information Operations (IOs), PsyOps, propaganda, misinformation, fake news, and disinformation. To counter the threats emanating from these strategies, it is important to work towards joint efforts at individual, organisational and state level. The paper specifically provides a set of measures at the individual and state level and puts forth recommendations on how to counter the growing threat of misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and false narratives. Lastly, the paper suggests that it is pertinent to study social media dynamics from a wider perspective and highlights the need for a dynamic and evolving Social Media Policy for Pakistan.
